Francis Ngannou not only managed to hang with Tyson Fury for 10 rounds but he took the heavyweight boxing champion to a razor-close split decision that many believe should have gone his way.
In the aftermath of that stunning performance, Ngannou has been flooded with potential options for what comes next including offers across both MMA and boxing. While he maintains a multi-fight deal with the PFL, Ngannou could be looking at a massive payday to stay in boxing — potentially for a lucrative rematch with Fury or possibly pursuing other fights like Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder.
PFL commentator Dan Hardy admits that he would like to see Ngannou return to his roots in MMA but then again he acknowledges that “The Predator” already sought out the toughest matchup possible in his professional boxing debut and nearly pulled off the upset.
“Tyson Fury stylistically is probably the most difficult for Ngannou to deal with,” Hardy explained on The MMA Hour. “He’s tall, he’s got great upper body movement, great defense. Then you look at somebody like Anthony Joshua or a Joe Joyce, they’re a little more upright, they don’t necessarily take a punch quite as well. They definitely don’t regroup as well as Tyson Fury does.
“I feel like he’s taken on the stiffest test and proved himself. So the door is definitely wide open for him in boxing and say you put somebody like a Deontay Wilder in there. You’ve got two of the most thunderous punchers on the planet. But again, stylistically for Ngannou, there are holes in Deontay Wilder’s game that can be exploited when he’s punching. Honestly, I think all the doors are open for him. We could be looking at someone that can hold the WBC and the PFL title at the same time.”
Joshua’s longtime promoter Eddie Hearn already started pushing for an eventual showdown against Ngannou while touting that the 2012 Olympic gold medalist in boxing would dispatch the ex-UFC champion in devastating fashion.
Hardy disagrees, especially given Joshua’s perceived weaknesses — most notably his struggles dealing with adversity when he’s not leading in a fight.
“I think honestly Anthony Joshua’s probably one of the better matchups for Ngannou out of all the heavyweights,” Hardy said. “I like the Joe Joyce idea because he boxes with a — I don’t mean amateurish — I mean an amateur technical style where he places his shots but his head’s very much on the center line. He doesn’t move it a lot.
“The thing is with Anthony Joshua, I don’t know if he can regroup if he hits the canvas, especially against an 0-1 boxer that’s still early in his career. I feel like it would unravel much quicker.”
While Fury survived a third-round knockout against Ngannou in their fight, Hardy could definitely see Joshua getting clipped with a similar punch and not getting up again.
“For me, Anthony Joshua, that’s a much, much better matchup for Ngannou,” Hardy said. “I could see Ngannou putting him away.”
As enticing as those boxing matches might be, Hardy still prefers to see Ngannou’s next fight happen in the PFL with hopes that could get booked in early 2024.
“I would like to see him back in MMA,” Hardy said. “I would like to see him hopefully headline the PFL pay-per-view event that’s coming up in the new year, maybe the first half of next year get him an MMA fight and then see where he’s at in the rankings and see kind of where the heavyweight division is at and if anybody makes sense. I feel there are some really good fights for Ngannou.”
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